Nepal

Kathmandu, July 27

US Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry said that a peace sanctuary, which is being built in Lumbini, would be a sacred gift to humanity. He also said it would be a universal destination for all peace lovers.

After inaugurating a contact office of Mahasiddha Sanctuary for Universal Peace in the capital today, the American envoy also urged all to support the project that provided an opportunity to spread Lord Buddhamessage of peace around the world.

MSUP, which was envisioned by Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche, an American Buddhist scholar and author, is being built in Lumbini at the cost of more than 600 million rupees.

Lawmaker Jeep Tshering Lama(left), Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche and US Ambassador to Nepal Randy Berry (right) inaugurating a contact office of the sanctuary, in Kathmandu, on Saturday. Photos: THT

On the occasion, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of India in Kathmandu Dr Ajay Kumar said everyone should support this project as the sanctuary would be a pilgrimage for people of all races, colours and creeds.

According to Rinpoche, the sanctuarystunning and modern infrastructure will have a main hall, a museum, a print and digital library (containing a complete collection of Buddhist literature till date in all languages), a retreat centre, conference facilities and accommodation for monks and nuns.

&It will also have traditional Buddhist symbols — a lotus flower, a butter lamp, a mandala and a stupa.

The government had provided land for the project in Lumbini in 2013. Rinpoche said the sanctuary would help attract more tourists in the country and support the countryeconomic development.

&It will serve as a focal point for everyone to channel their energies towards the great purpose of universal harmony and happiness,& he added.

The foundation stone of the Mahasiddha Sanctuary was laid in 2017. Rinpoche further appealed everyone to chip in for the project as per their capacity.

The project is also supported by Rangrig Yeshe Inc, Wencheng Gongzhu International Foundation and Bhrikuti Himalayan Foundation, he informed. Construction of MSUP will be completed by 2023.

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Kathmandu, July 27

Kathmandu Metropolitan City is planning to set up community composting facilities in various parts of the city to manage solid waste. It has urged the public to develop a habit of waste segregation at their homes.

Encouraged by the communityparticipation in Dallu Awas, KMC has planned to establish compost facilities in other locations as well.

KMC has been supporting the community in Dallu Awas to convert house waste into compost for the past couple of years.

Over 50 households in the area have been collecting waste for the purpose.

&We are working to identify locations where we can set up compost plants,& Spokesperson of KMC Ishwor Man Dangol said. He added that KMC would also launch awareness programmes on waste segregation in households.

Composting facilities can only process biodegradable waste, which needs to be segregated at the source of its origin.

&We want people to develop a habit of segregating waste at their homes before they hand over the waste to garbage collectors,& Dangol said.

It is common practice for people to collect all sorts of wastes in a single plastic bag. But, such practice only adds to the waste management problem.

Environmentalist Dhiraj Pradhananga said 90 per cent of household waste does not have to reach the landfill site if segregation is carried out at the very source (households).

&Among all household waste, about 60 per cent of waste comprises bio-degradable substances generated from kitchens which can easily be turned into compost without much effort and with low investment,& said Pradhananga.

The remaining 30 per cent household waste is recyclable, which can be easily sold after recycling.

If segregation is done properly, only 10 per cent of household waste needs to be dumped in landfill sites.

The government is working to construct a landfill site at Banchare Danda in Nuwakot district, some 28 kilometres away from Kathmandu.

However, if waste segregation is not done at the source itself, then the new landfill site will also be filled soon.

Hari Kunwar Shrestha, head of Environment Department at KMC said although the landfill site in Banchare Danda is said to last for 50 years, we don&t know if that is a fact.

&With our new campaign to encourage people to segregate waste originating from their kitchens and living rooms, we can assure that Banchare Danda landfill site will last for 100 years,& said Shrestha.

&To achieve this goal, we will establish composting facilities and buy biodegradable waste from people, and generate revenue by selling it.&

It is estimated that an average of 1,000 metric tonnes of waste is generated from Kathmandu valley on a daily basis.

KMC alone generates 350 metric tonnes of waste.

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Kathmandu, July 27

Nepal Communist Party (NCP) leaders have started pressuring their Co-chairs Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Pushpa Kamal Dahal publicly after they failed to come up with the names of the head of the partydepartments, especially School (Training) Department, the department responsible for indoctrinating the partycadres.

Of the 32 departments of the party, 18 have been allocated to the former CPN-UML and 14 to the then CPN-Maoist Centre.

The leaders started pressuring the two co-chairs after the central secretariat meeting of July 25, which was supposed to name the department heads, was postponed without scheduling another meeting date.

Oli and Dahal cannot agree on the allocation of the Training Department because Oli has proposed his close aide Deputy Prime Minister Ishwor Pokharel and Dahal has proposed Narayan Kaji Shrestha.

Standing Committee member Yogesh Bhattarai wrote on his facebook wall that the party had not completed the work division and even he didn&t know what role he would be assigned.

&I feel there are no big or small responsibilities in the party. The allocation of responsibility should be based on a personqualification, ability and interest. For me, the decision and criteria should be transparent. I request the co-chairs to hand me difficult work and test me,& he wrote.

Earlier this week, two other standing committee leaders Ghana Shyam Bhusal and Beduram Bhusal openly said they were also capable of leading the School Department.

They told the co-chairs to look beyond the selected few of the central secretariat.

Surya Thapa, the central committee member and close aide of Pokharel, questioned on his facebook, &Some people were taking departments of their choice and some were not allowed to choose, why?& He said Pokharel should get the department he is asking for.

He also criticised senior leaders of the party, including former PMs Madhav Nepal and Jhalanath Khanal, stating that those who led the departments 25 years ago should not take charge of the same departments again.

Dahal and the then Maoist faction leaders are against Pokharelappointment as Training Department head.

Pokharel openly advocates the ideology of the then CPN- UML — peoplemulti-party democracy. This has infuriated the CPN-MC.

Devendra Paudel, a central committee member and close aide to Dahal, told THT that they didn&t harbour reservation against any leader, including Pokharel, but the party should follow the agreement reached in May 2018 at the time of the merger.

Political analyst Hari Roka told THT the party has not engaged in any ideological or political discussion. &If thereno clear vision on the partyideological and political views, ituseless to cry during allocation of the partydepartments,& he said.

However, he also said the partyTraining Department was crucial. &It teaches how the party functions and the partycode of conduct. It also designs the school books of the party. It will be fine to hand over these types of departments to standing committee members too because 33 departments will not be led by a nine-member central secretariat committee,& he said.

He also alleged that the party was focused on the nearest and dearest persons of the big leaders.

&If you see the general secretaries — Bishnu Paudel and Ghana Shyam Bhusal — of the former UML, there is huge difference now. One became general secretary of the new party, whereas another is jobless in the party,& he added.

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Kathmandu, July 26

Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Thailand have become the first countries in WHO South-East Asia Region to achieve Hepatitis-B control, with prevalence of the deadly disease dropping to less than one per cent among five-year-old children, the World Health Organisation announced today.

&Unwavering determination to reach every child, everywhere, every time with life-saving Hepatitis-B vaccines through childhood immunisation has made this achievement possible. These successes are a testimony of the countries& commitment to health of their people, and the untiring efforts being made by health workers and communities for the well-being of children,& said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, regional director WHO South-East Asia, in a press statement released from New Delhi.

The expert panel for Verification of Hepatitis B Control in WHO South-East Asia region recommended verification of Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and Thailand, after reviewing childhood immunisation data that showed over 90 per cent consistent coverage with hepatitis B vaccine doses provided during infancy for past many years. Studies conducted among five-year-old children in these countries corroborated high immunisation rates, and that hepatitis B prevalence in these four countries among children was less than one per cent.

Children across 11 countries of WHO South-East Asia region get three doses of hepatitis B containing vaccines in their first year of life under national immunisation programme. Eight countries also administer hepatitis B vaccine birth dose crucial to prevent mother-to-child transmission of the disease.

Preventing hepatitis B infection in infancy substantially reduces chronic infections and cases of liver cancer and cirrhosis in adulthood. Hepatitis B control through immunisation gained momentum in the WHO South-East Asia Region with countries endorsing it as a target by 2020, as part of the South-East Asia Regional Vaccine Action Plan.

WHO Goodwill Ambassador for hepatitis in the region, Amitabh Bachchanadvocacy added impetus to efforts against hepatitis, Dr Khetrapal Singh said. These achievements come days before the World Hepatitis Day which focuses this year on ‘Invest in eliminating hepatitis.&

&Hepatitis can be easily prevented and also treated. Member countries must continue to spread awareness about hepatitis and scale up other preventive measures such as safe injection, safe blood and infection prevention and control,& the regional director said.

Though preventable, viral hepatitis kills 410,000 people in the WHO South-East Asia Region every year, mostly people in their productive years. Nearly 90 million people suffer from chronic liver disease that is driving rates of liver cancer and cirrhosis in the region.

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